Scholarships, New Zealand, and Responsibilities
Hello world.
I’m always surprised, humbled, and a little perplexed when I log in on my sporadic schedule to see the GJH stats: which posts have been linked to, commented on, or the general site visits. Every once in a while I receive messages based on my other writings on this site. When I receive those, I usually think, “Wow. I should write more — I’ve been meaning to, anyway.” But then life gets in the way, and the discipline leaves.
Vlogging never took with me, and I feel like it would be a really useful outlet for me. I enjoy writing, but I fuss over it. The stream-of-consciousness form of vlogging seems more intimate, more useful for what I really want to communicate. Perhaps someday.
In any event, the most pressing news is my departure for New Zealand in two weeks. I was at my home church in Milwaukee yesterday — delightful to see everyone, and a little disappointment that I haven’t been able to be up there as much in the past year as the last — and realized I needed to update this blog to publicize it and stay in touch during my travels.
I will be doing a short-term ministry internship with the Community of Saint Luke in Auckland, New Zealand. It is a progressive, Christian community affiliated with the Presbyterian Church Aotearoa New Zealand with a strong community center and ministry in the Remuera and Newmarket area of the city. I’m excited beyond words to experience cross-cultural ministry in this way, to learn of new ideas for ministry in an environment decidedly different from North America.
When I was on my way to the Parliament of the World’s Religions in December, I had the opportunity to stop in Auckland and meet my supervisor, Rev. David Clark, along with a number of members of the congregation. I am sure it will be a delightful experience and that I will return in August with more ideas and learnings than I will have time to test and implement. My main areas of work will be in worship, pastoral care, community mission, and personal interviews and research in the area of cross-cultural dialogue.
The second big news for today is that I am officially a UCC scholarship recipient. In March, I applied for the William R. Johnson Scholarship from the national church, and today I received a letter informing me I was chosen as one of the recipients. It’s not a large sum, but it effectively doubles the denominational support that I have received for the past two years.
Finally, I’m feeling torn between multiple responsibilities, wishes, desires, and dreams right now. I don’t feel it to be necessary to write about most of it, but prayers and good thoughts for clarity, strength, and affirmation would be appreciated.
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Daniel Ross-Jones serves as Minister for Youth & Young Adults at First Congregational Church of Palo Alto, United Church of Christ. Living in the San Francisco Bay Area for a time still measured in months, he is frequently getting lost and discovering treasures of a landscape very different from his Upper Midwestern roots. Green Jello Hotdish is a blog exploring the intersections of his days. 
